MY PRETEND WIFE

Tuscan Honeymoon

The early morning sun shone brightly through the window as Maine slowly opened her eyes. It took her a minute to get re-accustomed to her unfamiliar surroundings. She was in Italy and she was finally officially married to Richard. With a small smile on her face, she held up her left hand and admired the plain platinum wedding band that graced her finger along with the engagement ring that he gave her. She's now RJ's wife. Her brain has yet to wrap itself around that idea. It seemed so surreal and she felt as if she was living a fairy tale.

It was her wedding night last night although she can hardly call it one considering that she slept alone on the bed. Richard insisted that he sleep on the floor. Maine blushed as she remembered the way RJ gazed at her when she stepped out of the bathroom wearing the nightgown his mother had packed for her. His gaze held so much longing that she actually felt sexy for the first time in her life. For one crazy moment she had contemplated on telling RJ to forget about her request of having a marriage only in papers. She wanted to know how it felt like to be wrapped in his arms and to feel his lips on hers once again.

But it was Richard who requested that they slept separately and she was too embarrassed to insist that it was okay to share the bed with him. There was so much conflict shown on his handsome face that she did not want to further add to his burden. She just realized how difficult her request must be for him. He was a ladies' man for most of his life and he was never left wanting when it came to sexual encounters with women. And then she asked him a marriage only in papers with the full expectation of having his complete loyalty and fidelity only to her. It was like asking him to remain celibate for the rest of his life. Could RJ actually do that? She wondered.

With a sigh, she slowly got out of bed and spotted RJ still asleep on the floor. He must have tossed aside the bed covers during the night as he lay down on the comforter that served as his mattress. Maine tiptoed towards him keeping as quiet as possible so as not to wake him up. She stopped at the edge of the comforter and stooped down in order to watch him sleep. He looked so relaxed and peaceful and he looked even more handsome. She reached out and shook his shoulders a little bit to wake him up.

"It's time to wake up RJ" Maine softly whispered.

Richard did not stir. Maine finally decided to let him sleep a little more but as she started to shift from her position RJ's arm suddenly shot out and pulled her towards him. Maine's heart started to double up in speed as she found herself half on top of him. His arms were enclosed around her holding her close. Maine looked at his face and saw that his eyes were still closed.

"Five more minutes." he murmured softly.

Maine stayed as still as a statue. Her heart was thudding crazily against her chest as she lay there wrapped tightly in RJ's embrace. For the next fifteen minutes Maine stayed exactly where she was. She did not move an inch and contented herself in listening to his even breathing and watching his handsome face that was only a few inches from hers. She has never seen RJ this close before and she tried to memorize every bit of his countenance- his long lashes, his aristocratic nose and the tempting lips that just kissed her last night after the wedding. The kiss that they shared right after the ceremony was a surprise for her. She did not expect the intensity of the kiss and she almost forgot where they were. All that mattered was his lips caressing hers and ever since then she had longed for him to kiss her the same way again. It was totally different from the kiss that they first shared during the engagement party. If their first kiss reminded her of lazy Sunday afternoons, their second kiss was like a flamenco dance - hot, passionate and fiery. It was like he had branded her as his own with that kiss and she had no complaints at all.

With a soft smile on her face, Maine could not stop herself from reaching out and caressing RJ's lips lightly with her fingertips. She froze as she felt him stir and watched wide eyed as he finally opened his eyes. They stared at each other for a moment. Maine held her breath, her fingers still touching his lips. Richard gave Maine a small smile as he softly kissed her fingers.